Omaha, Neb. (AP) -- Jury selection for a civil trial against the Omaha
Roman Catholic Archdiocese was to resume Friday, a day after the archdiocese
admitted that negligent supervision of a priest contributed to his sexually
abusing a 14-year-old altar boy in the 1990s.

As a result of the admission, two civil lawsuits against the archdiocese
scheduled for trial next week will decide only damages, not whether the
church was responsible, District Judge Robert Burkhard said.

The lawsuits were filed by the former altar boy and his mother in 1998
and 1999, before this year's nationwide eruption of sex abuse accusations
against priests.

The plaintiffs' attorney, Harold Zabin, said he planned to seek at least
$1 million in damages from the archdiocese.

Zabin was asked if a settlement might be reached before the trial begins.

''It's up to them,'' he replied, gesturing to archdiocese attorneys,
who declined to comment.

The priest in the case, the Rev. Daniel Herek, was convicted in 1998
of sexually assaulting the boy, now 20, and manufacturing child pornography
while he was pastor at St. Richard's Catholic Church from June 1992 to
May 1997.

Herek served 2 1/2 years in prison before being released to a state facility
for mental health treatment.

The lawsuits claimed the archdiocese knew Herek posed a danger to children
but did nothing to protect parishioners.

Previously, archdiocese officials had said they had received no complaints
about Herek that raised alarm or warranted removing him from contact with
children.

The chancellor of the archdiocese, the Rev. Michael Gutgsell, said Herek's
conviction played a part in the decision to admit negligence.

''Father Herek was convicted of a criminal charge with this specific
individual,'' Gutgsell said. ''As that point, basic liability has been
admitted.''

The admission applies only to Herek in this trial, Gutgsell said.

A few documents were considered key to the plaintiffs' case, including
indications that an archdiocese official discouraged someone from pursuing
criminal charges against Herek around 1980. The official in question has
denied doing so.

The plaintiffs also have evidence that parishioners repeatedly complained
about Herek to church officials over the years on a variety of problems,
including substance abuse and unsupervised overnight trips with altar
boys.

Herek was ordained in 1971. He served in parishes in the archdiocese
until his removal from St. Richard's in 1997.

Other former altar boys have filed lawsuits against the archdiocese regarding
Herek. Two lawsuits have been settled out of court; four others are scheduled
for trial later this year.

The lawsuits against Herek reached trial as the archdiocese faces criticism
for its handling of another priest, who is accused of viewing child pornography
over the Internet while serving a parish in Norfolk.

Archbishop Elden Curtiss transferred the Rev. Robert Allgaier to a parish
in Ralston after Allgaier admitted repeatedly viewing child pornography.
Curtiss did not tell authorities, who have charged Allgaier with attempted
possession of child pornography.

Last month, Curtiss dismissed and granted early retirement to a priest
accused of sexually abusing boys more than 30 years ago. The archdiocese
said accusations against the Rev. Thomas Sellentin, 62, had come recently
from four Nebraska parishes.